SANTA CLARA — Down by a point and less than a minute left, Blaine Gabbert took the shotgun snap, read the cover-two defense and calmly delivered a pass over the middle to Cecil Shorts for an 80-yard, game-winning touchdown.

“He made a hell of a throw, and threw it hard,” Shorts recalled Thursday in a phone interview. “Once I caught it, I ran like I was running from the police. It was a great read.”

It was Sept. 23, 2012, in Indianapolis, site of Gabbert”s only two road victories in 27 starts as Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback from 2011-13.

He wouldn”t win another start until his first with the 49ers, a 17-16 nail-biter Nov. 8 over the Atlanta Falcons. On Sunday, Gabbert will make his first 49ers road start, and it”ll be in Seattle, site of defeats in the 49ers” past four visits.

“I enjoy playing on the road,” Gabbert said. “It”s kind of a sweeter victory when you win on the road, and it makes you focus on the details.”

So says the man with two NFL road wins as a starter, in 2011 and 2012 against the Colts.

Oddly enough, Gabbert”s first road win for the University of Missouri came in 2009 at Nevada, against Colin Kaepernick, the man Gabbert has unseated as the 49ers starter, at least for a second consecutive game.

Gabbert is only 26 but talks like a seasoned pro, one who has been through adversity, which certainly was the case in Jacksonville. He bombed there in his introduction to the NFL, while others around him bombed as well.

”Thrown in the fire”

“He was thrown in the fire and into a bad situation there,” said Shorts, a Jaguars teammate from 2011-13 and now the Houston Texans” second-leading receiver.

“We all knew what was going on,” Shorts added. “In three years, (Gabbert) had three head coaches, three offensive coordinators, two owners and two general managers. It was a tough situation.”

Actually, Gabbert played under four head coaches in Jacksonville: Jack Del Rio (2011), Mel Tucker (interim coach, final five games of 2011), Mike Mularkey (2012) and Gus Bradley (2013).

Del Rio, now the Raiders coach, kept his response brief when recently asked about Gabbert: “Well, uh, he was a young man that was drafted a while back. I”ve lost track of the years. But I wish him the best.”

The best is what teams expect from a first-round draft pick, especially at quarterback. The Jaguars selected him 10th overall. The 49ers passed on him to take his Missouri teammate, Aldon Smith, at No. 7, while waiting until the second round to draft Kaepernick.

“He”s a very bright guy,” Shorts said. “We came in the lockout year and had to pick up the playbook quick, and he did.”

Gabbert won four of 14 starts as a rookie, completing 50.8 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He won only one of his other 12 starts with the Jaguars: the 2012 comeback at Indianapolis.

Gabbert suffered a season-ending forearm injury two months later, becoming one of 22 players to end the season on injured reserve. The Jaguars won only two games that year under Mularkey. Upon his recent appointment earlier this month as the Tennessee Titans” interim coach, Mularkey reflected on 2012 and said: “We could”ve used more help rosterwise.”

Gabbert was shelved for good in Jacksonville after only three starts in 2013, when his hamstring injury vaulted Chad Henne into the starting role.

“We just tried to do everything we could to hone our skills and make the best of a bad situation,” Forsett said Thursday in a phone interview. “It was tough. New coaches every year, a lot of transition, many players coming in and out.”

Forsett, a former Cal star, now starts at running back for the Baltimore Ravens.

Gabbert”s string of injuries — shoulder, thumb, hand, hamstring and ankle — gave the Jaguars reason to question his durability and their trust in him, not to mention his on-field woes.

“We have to take a look at it and see why. We have to really study it,” Bradley said in October 2013. “But I can”t argue the fact that some things have popped up for him.”

In return for Gabbert, the Jaguars acquired the 49ers” 2014 sixth-round draft pick, which they used on center Luke Bowanko, now a backup.

Several ex-Jaguars recently have defended Gabbert, especially in terms of his character and potential. Former running back Maurice Jones-Drew interviewed him this week for NFL Network and opened by saying: “Everyone welcome in my favorite quarterback, Blaine Gabbert.”

“He wasn”t a big hot shot, and was just a normal guy,” Shorts said.

“He”s just down to earth and able to communicate with everybody,” Forsett added. “When I think of Blaine Gabbert, it”s Sunshine from ”Remember the Titans.” A couple guys in Jacksonville joked with him about that, and he took it in stride.”

The 49ers” starting wide receivers, Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, have taken a liking to Gabbert, too.

“He”s always been cool with me. We go out to eat,” said Boldin, noting that Gabbert is among a handful of players in “The Foodies” club that dines together on road trips. “He”s a cool guy, a regular guy in the locker room who likes to have fun and be around the guys.”

Smith has known Gabbert since the 2011 predraft combine. “I always thought he was a very talented guy,” Smith said. “People view him in a certain light, but there hasn”t been too many people who”ve done well in Jacksonville.

” … Hopefully he”s able to showcase his real ability here and his growth since then,” Smith added, “because obviously it”s been some years.”

A first step in Gabbert”s possible rebirth came in the 49ers” Nov. 8 win over the Falcons, when he passed efficiently, avoided getting sacked and scrambled well, including for a clock-killing first down.

“He knows what happened in Jacksonville, and I think deep down he believes he can play better football than what he played in Jacksonville,” 49ers offensive coordinator Geep Chryst said. “What he did against Atlanta validates his point.”